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4 days ago
- Sport
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Thomas Tuchel discards Southgate's blueprint to build England's mettle
When, in April 1965, a month shy of his 30th birthday, Jack Charlton was called up to play for England for the first time, he was baffled. In characteristically blunt fashion, he asked Alf Ramsey why on earth he had picked him. 'I have a pattern of play in mind,' Ramsey replied. 'And I pick the best players to fit the pattern. I don't necessarily always pick the best players.' Or at least that is the printable version of their conversation that has been left to history. 'You're a good tackler and you're good in the air, and I need those things,' Ramsey continued. 'And I know you don't trust Bobby Moore.' There is a fallacy that the winning of major tournaments is about having the best players. It is not; it is, as Ramsey understood, about picking the right players in the right configuration – even if that means leaving out players who have played very well for you, as he did with Peter Thompson, or leaving the goalscoring darling of the media on the bench, as he did with Jimmy Greaves. Advertisement Related: Chilled Cole Palmer ready to play 'wherever' and win spot in England XI England now are in a position not unlike that in which they found themselves in 1965. They have a year left before a World Cup for which they will be one of the favourites, and they have a manager who has made clear he is not concerned by such nebulous concepts as developing the culture or blooding players to be ready three or four tournaments down the line. Thomas Tuchel, no less than Ramsey, knows his job is to win. Tuchel does have one complication that Ramsey did not, which is that he still needs to qualify. England would expect to top their group but the two games against Serbia and the trip to Albania cannot be taken for granted. Saturday's fixture against Andorra, meanwhile, probably can. In that regard it represents an opportunity for Tuchel, a chance to foster team spirit and perhaps test out a couple of theories, even if the tougher test may come in training sessions than at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona. That's why, for instance, Ivan Toney has been called up. When he left Brentford for Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, it made sense that he should lose his place in the England squad. He had voluntarily taken himself to a lower level and it was a reasonable assumption that his sharpness would diminish as a consequence. But he scored 23 goals in 29 starts this season, playing well enough at least to be entered into the conversation for squad places. Advertisement After all, his role would almost certainly be as one of two back-ups to Harry Kane, and he remains a formidable converter of penalties. For most players the fact that only 11 of their 23 goals this season were from open play would be a negative, but for Toney it almost works in his favour: he scored 12 out of 12 from the spot, taking his career record to 42 penalties converted out of 44. Quite aside from his physicality and movement, which helped turn the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland, that is a very useful weapon to be able to bring on for a shootout. So it's understandable that Tuchel wants a look at Toney, to see whether he has lost his edge, to work out whether he can fit into his vision for the team. Tuchel has acknowledged that he would have liked to go to Saudi Arabia to watch Toney in action but, having been unable to fit that into his schedule, it makes sense to see him in a squad environment. Whether he plays against Andorra is probably less important than the impression he has made more generally in this camp. Pre-tournament camps, of course, are always the stuff of legend. West Germany were adamant that the 1954 World Cup was won by the Kameradschaft generated at Spiez on the Thunersee before the tournament. The Italy squad of 1982 and the France squad of 1998 talk about how they bonded against the common enemy of a critical media. Pelé led the 1970 Brazil squad in communal prayer sessions. However it is achieved, a sense of togetherness is vital. With time limited, this international break represents a rare chance for Tuchel and his squad to spend time together, to foster that team spirit – which, having been good for three tournaments under Gareth Southgate, seemed lacking at Euro 2024. That's why Tuchel insisted on warm-weather training and took the squad to the Barcelona grand prix last Sunday. Some tactical work may have been done, but this was far more about trying to recreate the inflatable unicorns of 2018, or at least the bonds they represented. Advertisement And this is the right time to do it. England cannot take Serbia or Albania lightly, and club commitments restrict the time available during the season. But with no English representation in the Champions League final, before a June qualifier against the team ranked 173rd in the world and a friendly on Tuesday against Senegal, there is some leeway in the calendar. Whether it has worked will become apparent only next summer at the tournament. Either way, this week and the two games to come are not about the result or even about the performance; rather they're about what goes on behind the scenes in terms of refining the squad and engendering the right mentality.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
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England overcome Hayley Matthews magic to launch new era in style
New era, new England. If it was a defeat to the West Indies that brought down one regime, the disastrous T20 World Cup exit precipitating the Ashes debacle and fall of the Jon Lewis/Heather Knight axis, then a comprehensive win over the same opposition marked a perfect start to life under Charlotte Edwards. Of course, convincing home victories are not a fresh phenomenon for a side that tends to go well here regardless of the opposition, but the manner in which they dismissed a dangerous visiting side was nonetheless impressive. It came despite one of the great T20 innings from Hayley Matthews, who has come to trade in such things. The West Indies skipper almost single-handedly dragged her team to a total of 146/7 with a hundred of masterful strokeplay and structure, not so much playing on a different pitch to her teammates but a different sport. The sterner tests of England's growth will come at the World Cup in India later his year but this was a positive, tentative step in the right direction under Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt. There was energy and application in the field and shrewd use of five bowlers by the skipper, unable to bowl herself as she nurses an achilles issue. The magical Matthews could not be contained but her colleagues mustered just 40 from 53 balls, illustrating the control England maintained over proceedings. It set up a chase made in relative comfort, with a dashing Sophia Dunkley (81*) and liberated Knight (43*) surviving a couple of scares to cruise home after Danni Wyatt-Hodge and the new leader had perished early. Dunkley has begun the season in superb form in the revamped domestic structure, scores of 92, 102 and 79 made in quick succession to set up this enterprising knock – a pleasing sign after another key tweak in this new age of English women's cricket. The 26-year-old is yet to truly fulfil her potential at international level but feels the sort of player who could thrive under Edwards. A final stroke of real elegance, her 12th boundary, through the offside secured success with 21 balls to spare. 'It was great to start the summer off with a win,' Dunkley, elevated into the leadership group ahead of this series, said. 'Lottie has come in as a really calm person and really clear with what we want to do. I wanted to come out and contribute to the team, try to impact the game as much as possible. It was a good night. Heather has been outstanding around the group, nothing has really changed much on that front.' More radical changes to the England XI may be on the way after the World Cup later this year but there were a few subtle changes in the first team named by Edwards. Under a new selection strategy, the wider squad was picked by the new coach and her old middle-order mucker Lydia Greenway, appointed as national selector, with Sciver-Brunt providing more limited input and then influential on matchday. A T20I debut for Em Arlott, a bowler England have long liked, felt overdue, while a recall for Issy Wong was welcome after her run-up troubles over the last couple of years. Qiana Joseph had been England's dismantler in chief in Dubai last October, tonking England repeatedly to the boundary with a somewhat old-school display of leg-side lumping aided by some woeful catching. The opener lasted just four balls here, though, an attempted turn into the on-side catching a leading edge and settling in the hands of Linsey Smith in the offside ring off the bowling of Lauren Bell. When the tall quick extracted an edge from Zaida James with extra bounce to take a second in the over, the West Indies were in a spot of bother. Fortunately, they have one of the world's best batters on which to call. Hayley Matthews at times has to carry the Caribbean on her back – as shown in World Cup qualifying, where the skipper left the field on a stretcher before returning to complete a remarkable hundred that ultimately proved in vain during a costly defeat to Scotland. The tournament will be poorer for her absence; highlights here included a lovely lifted sweep for six off Smith and three boundaries in a row from the bowling of Dean. Misfortune befell her latest partner, debutant Realeanna Grimmond run out searching for a second not knowing the ball was already in the hands of wicketkeeper Amy Jones. With no Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin or Chinelle Henry in the side to support the skipper, the visitors' batting line-up looked thin, and Shabika Gajnabi and Aaliyah Alleyne followed soon enough. A bullet arm from Wong on the square leg boundary, summing up England's new attitude and application, accounted for Jannillea Glasgow. And so it was left to the slender Bajan shoulders of Matthews to haul the West Indies to something competitive again. And how she heaved, an unbeaten 100 made in marvellous style without undue risk as all around her crumbled. It was the second time she had made more than 67% of her side's runs in a completed T20I innings. It is fair to wonder what she might be able to do with a little more support but her individual brilliance could not spoil an excellent launch event for England's new era.
